The County on Your NY Application for Authority, and Cost
The Short Answer
Item THIRD of New York's Application for Authority (form DOS-1361-f-a) asks a foreign LLC to "Complete with the name of a New York State county", and the form's own note says "the limited liability company is not required to have an actual physical office in New York State." The county written there decides which county clerk designates the two newspapers that publish the LLC's notice under Section 802 of the NY LLC Law. Newspaper rates vary by county.
LLC Publishers' price is one fixed, one-time total determined by the county on the LLC's Application for Authority: a base price of $395–$1,795 by county. The six weeks of publication are fixed by statute, and LLC Publishers' full process takes about 8–10 weeks. The newspapers and the State set their own pace, so these are estimates. The LLC designates the county; LLC Publishers does not recommend one.
This page serves two readers. For an LLC formed in another state that has not filed its Application for Authority yet, it covers how the county is set on the application. For one that has already filed, the county is already on its New York Department of State record, and LLC Publishers publishes in that county. When the owner designates a different New York county for the LLC's office, LLC Publishers files the Certificate of Change first, then publishes in that county. Whether New York registration applies to the LLC at all is covered in LLC formed in another state? New York registration explained, and the rest of the form, item by item, in what a NY Application for Authority is.
The county on the application, in numbers
What Item THIRD on DOS-1361-f-a Asks For
The county comes from one line of the Department of State's form, DOS-1361-f-a (Rev. 12/22), the Application for Authority for a foreign limited liability company. Here is item THIRD as the form prints it:
DOS-1361-f-a, item THIRD (verbatim)
"THIRD: The county within New York State in which the office of the foreign limited liability company is to be located or if the foreign limited liability company shall maintain more than one office in this state, the county within New York State in which the principal office of the foreign limited liability company is to be located is:"
"(Complete with the name of a New York State county. Please note that the limited liability company is not required to have an actual physical office in New York State.)"
The form's item follows the statute. Section 802(a)(3) of the NY LLC Law requires the application to set forth:
"(3) the county within this state in which the office of the foreign limited liability company is to be located or if the foreign limited liability company shall maintain more than one office in this state, the county within the state in which the principal office of the foreign limited liability company is to be located;"
The answer is one county name. The Department of State's filing receipt for an accepted application then prints that county on its COUNTY: line.
Does a Foreign LLC Need an Office in the County It Names?
The Department of State's form and the LLC Law answer this in their own words. The form's note to item THIRD says "the limited liability company is not required to have an actual physical office in New York State." The LLC Law's list of terms, in Section 102(s), says what the "office" in item THIRD is:
"(s) "Office of the limited liability company" means the office of the limited liability company, the location of which is stated in the articles of organization of a domestic limited liability company, or in the application for authority of a foreign limited liability company. Such office need not be a place where business activities are conducted by such limited liability company."
Section 102(s) names the foreign LLC's application by name: the office is the one "stated ... in the application for authority of a foreign limited liability company", and it "need not be a place where business activities are conducted". Which county to write is the LLC's decision, and the full text of both sources is on nysenate.gov and dos.ny.gov. The form's fourth note adds: "The Department of State recommends that legal documents be prepared under the guidance of an attorney."
The newspapers must be designated by the county clerk of the county in which the LLC has designated as its office location as stated in the application for authority.
What the County on the Application Decides
Once the application is filed, Section 802(b) of the NY LLC Law ties publication to that county. Its first sentence reads:
"Within one hundred twenty days after the filing of the application for authority with the department of state, a copy of the same or a notice containing the substance thereof shall be published once in each week for six successive weeks, in two newspapers of the county within this state in which the office of the foreign limited liability company is located, one newspaper to be printed weekly and one newspaper to be printed daily, to be designated by the county clerk."
The Department of State's Application for Authority page says the same in its own words: "The newspapers must be designated by the county clerk of the county in which the LLC has designated as its office location as stated in the application for authority."
The county on the application therefore decides:
- Which county clerk designates the newspapers. In New York City, Section 802(b) adds: "When such county is located within a city with a population of one million or more, such designation shall be as though the copy or notice were a notice or advertisement of judicial proceedings." In Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, the county clerk assigns the two newspapers for each LLC; Staten Island (Richmond County) publishes a designated list.
- Which two newspapers print the notice, and so what they charge. Newspaper rates vary by county.
- One line of the notice itself. Section 802(b) lists what the notice "shall include", among them "(4) the county within this state, in which the office of the foreign limited liability company is located".
Section 802(b) counts the 120 days from "the filing of the application for authority with the department of state". The statute's starting point is the filing; it does not mention the State's approval. The Department of State's Application for Authority page says the same: "within 120 days after the filing of the application for authority".
The Process Address and a Registered Agent Are Separate Items
Section 802(a) of the NY LLC Law lists the office county, the address for legal papers and a registered agent as three separate items of the application:
- (3) the county of the office (quoted above).
- (4) the process address: "a designation of the secretary of state as its agent upon whom process against it may be served and the post office address within or without this state to which the secretary of state shall mail a copy of any process against it served upon him or her." This is item FOURTH on DOS-1361-f-a.
- (5) a registered agent, if the LLC has one: "if it is to have a registered agent, his or her name and address within the state and a statement that the registered agent is to be its agent upon whom process may be served;"
DOS-1361-f-a has no item for a registered agent. The form's first note says it "does not contain all optional provisions under the law."
LLC Publishers' copy of the Department of State's entity records (October 2026) holds 12,989 of the 13,115 foreign LLCs and foreign professional service LLCs whose Application for Authority was filed from October 20, 2025 to October 19, 2026. Of those 12,989, 1,511 have a registered agent on the Department's record.
Section 804-A(b) of the NY LLC Law covers a certificate of change, signed and delivered by the LLC's agent, that changes only that agent's address, and says: "A certificate signed and delivered under this subdivision shall not be deemed to effect a change of location of the office of the foreign limited liability company in whose behalf such certificate is filed."
What Publication Costs in Each New York County
Newspaper rates vary by county, so LLC Publishers prices each county separately. LLC Publishers' price is one fixed, one-time total determined by the county on the LLC's Application for Authority. LLC Publishers' price covers both clerk-designated newspapers for the full six weeks, the notarized affidavits of publication (each newspaper's sworn statement that the notice ran), and the Certificate of Publication filed with the Department of State, the $50 state filing fee included. A customer is never quoted a statewide range.
The table shows every county's base price, read live from LLC Publishers' price list. The line above the table states the foreign-LLC add-on, which is the same in every county.
Base price in every New York county
| County | Base price |
|---|---|
| Albany County | $395 |
| Allegany County | $425 |
| Bronx County | $1,745 |
| Broome County | $425 |
| Cattaraugus County | $425 |
| Cayuga County | $425 |
| Chautauqua County | $425 |
| Chemung County | $425 |
| Chenango County | $425 |
| Clinton County | $425 |
| Columbia County | $425 |
| Cortland County | $425 |
| Delaware County | $425 |
| Dutchess County | $425 |
| Erie County | $445 |
| Essex County | $425 |
| Franklin County | $425 |
| Fulton County | $425 |
| Genesee County | $425 |
| Greene County | $425 |
| Hamilton County | $425 |
| Herkimer County | $425 |
| Jefferson County | $425 |
| Kings County (Brooklyn) | $1,475 |
| Lewis County | $425 |
| Livingston County | $425 |
| Madison County | $425 |
| Monroe County | $595 |
| Montgomery County | $425 |
| Nassau County | $625 |
| New York County (Manhattan) | $1,795 |
| Niagara County | $445 |
| Oneida County | $425 |
| Onondaga County | $425 |
| Ontario County | $425 |
| Orange County | $425 |
| Orleans County | $425 |
| Oswego County | $425 |
| Otsego County | $425 |
| Putnam County | $685 |
| Queens County | $1,195 |
| Rensselaer County | $425 |
| Richmond County (Staten Island) | $1,295 |
| Rockland County | $445 |
| Saratoga County | $425 |
| Schenectady County | $425 |
| Schoharie County | $425 |
| Schuyler County | $425 |
| Seneca County | $425 |
| St. Lawrence County | $425 |
| Steuben County | $425 |
| Suffolk County | $625 |
| Sullivan County | $445 |
| Tioga County | $425 |
| Tompkins County | $425 |
| Ulster County | $425 |
| Warren County | $425 |
| Washington County | $425 |
| Wayne County | $425 |
| Westchester County | $395 |
| Wyoming County | $425 |
| Yates County | $425 |
In Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, the county clerk assigns the two newspapers LLC by LLC, and LLC Publishers' price there includes that clerk step. Publication cost is driven by newspaper rates, and newspaper rates vary by county. Across all 62 counties, LLC Publishers' base prices run $395–$1,795. For the newspapers listed for each county, see NY LLC publication newspapers and costs by county or the county pages.
Filed already? See your LLC's total.
Search the LLC's name to see the county on its New York State record and its one fixed, one-time total, the foreign-LLC add-on included.
Get StartedWhat the Foreign-LLC Add-On Pays For
LLC Publishers' price for a foreign LLC includes $500 more than the county's base price, for the additional requirements of NY LLC Law §802: a longer notice and more to verify before publishing. The add-on is the same in every county. Here is what it covers, in LLC Publishers' records and experience.
A Foreign LLC's Notice Is Longer
As of October 2026, the Section 802 notices LLC Publishers prepared for its foreign-LLC orders ran a median of 95 words; its standard domestic notice in 2026 ran a median of 58 words.
Most of the difference is three items Section 802(b) requires in a foreign LLC's notice, which a New York LLC's notice under Section 206(a) does not include:
- "(3) the jurisdiction and date of its organization;"
- "(7) the address of the office required to be maintained in the jurisdiction of its organization by the laws of that jurisdiction or, if not so required, of the principal office of the foreign limited liability company;"
- "(8) the name and address of the authorized officer in its jurisdiction of organization where a copy of its certificate of organization is filed or, if no public filing of its certificate of organization is required by the law of its jurisdiction of organization, a statement that the foreign limited liability company shall provide, on request, a copy thereof with all amendments thereto (if such documents are in a foreign language, a translation thereof under oath of the translator shall be attached thereto), and the name and post office address of the person responsible for providing such copies;"
Those three lines print what the LLC writes in items SECOND, FIFTH and SEVENTH of DOS-1361-f-a. In LLC Publishers' 2026 records, some newspapers price legal notices by length.
Most Foreign Notices Are Placed by Hand
In LLC Publishers' experience in 2026, almost all newspapers that take legal notices through an online self-service system accept only domestic LLC notices there, so about 9 in 10 foreign-LLC notices are placed by hand with a person at the newspaper.
More to Check Before and After Publishing
The Department of State's filing receipt does not show the home-state lines of the notice, so LLC Publishers reads them from the filed Application for Authority before the notice runs. The Application for Authority guide explains the difference between the receipt and the filed application.
From February to October 2026, at least 7 of the 44 newspaper affidavits for LLC Publishers' foreign-LLC orders first came back citing Section 206, the domestic LLC section, and were reissued under Section 802.
Where New Foreign LLCs Name Their County: State Counts
The Department of State's public filing records show the county each new foreign LLC named on its Application for Authority. The two counties named most often are New York County (Manhattan) and Albany County:
| Year | Applications for Authority filed | Named New York County | Named Albany County |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 6,406 | 3,552 | 667 |
| 2015 | 9,394 | 4,784 | 1,288 |
| 2020 | 8,998 | 3,473 | 1,828 |
| 2025 | 12,345 | 4,449 | 3,263 |
| 2026, to October 19 | 10,535 | 3,643 | 2,925 |
Source: NY Open Data, "Corporations and Other Entities: All Filings" (data.ny.gov dataset 63wc-4exh), extracted October 22, 2026. Each foreign limited liability company and foreign professional service limited liability company is counted once, at its first Application for Authority, with the county stated on that filing.
According to the Department of State's filing records, 3,552 of the 6,406 foreign LLCs and foreign PLLCs that filed a first Application for Authority in 2010 named New York County, and 667 named Albany County. According to the same records, 4,449 of the 12,345 that filed in 2025 named New York County, and 3,263 named Albany County. In the 12 months from October 20, 2025 to October 19, 2026, according to the same records, 4,520 of the 13,115 that filed named New York County, and 3,603 named Albany County.
These counts show the county each filer stated on its application (item THIRD on a foreign LLC's DOS-1361-f-a). The full dataset, with home states and every county, is at foreign LLCs in New York: the data.
The Total Cost to Register a Foreign LLC in New York
Registering and publishing involves costs set by the Department of State, the LLC's home state and the two newspapers; with LLC Publishers, the newspapers, affidavits and Certificate of Publication are one fixed total by county.
| Item | Set by | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Application for Authority (DOS-1361-f-a) filing fee | NY LLC Law §1101(k); the Department of State | $250 |
| Certificate of Existence (good standing) from the home state | The home state | Set by the home state |
| Optional expedited handling of the application | The Department of State | $25 (24 hours), $75 (same day) or $150 (2 hours) per document |
| Publication: two newspapers for six weeks, affidavits, and the Certificate of Publication with the $50 state filing fee | LLC Publishers, by county | Base price $395–$1,795 by county |
| Optional county change after filing (DOS-1362-f) | LLC Publishers | $100 add-on, the State's filing fee included |
The Department of State's Application for Authority page says of the home-state certificate: "The Certificate of Existence must be dated within one year." The form's third note says the name and date of formation on the application "must exactly match the name of the foreign limited liability company and, if applicable, the date of formation stated in the Certificate of Existence, Certificate of Good Standing or Certificate of Status." The same Department of State page lists the expedited fees, each per document.
Changing the County After the Application Is Filed
Section 804-A(a) of the NY LLC Law says "A foreign limited liability company may amend its application for authority from time to time to (i) specify or change the location of the limited liability company's office". The filing is a Certificate of Change for a foreign LLC, form DOS-1362-f.
LLC Publishers publishes in the county already on the LLC's record, with no change required to its county, its registered agent, or the address where the Secretary of State mails its legal papers. When the owner designates a different New York county for the LLC's office, LLC Publishers files the Certificate of Change first, then publishes in that county. LLC Publishers serves all 62 New York counties.
For a foreign LLC that certificate is DOS-1362-f, and LLC Publishers files it as a $100 add-on to the publication order, the State's filing fee included, at checkout or after the order is placed. See county change as a service.
How LLC Publishers Handles a Foreign LLC's Publication
Once the Application for Authority is filed, LLC Publishers handles the whole Section 802 publication in the county on it:
- Newspapers. Before each publication, LLC Publishers checks the county on the LLC's New York Department of State record, then that county clerk's newspaper designations: on the clerk's website where the clerk lists them, and otherwise in LLC Publishers' records of its calls to the clerk's office. In Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, the clerk assigns the two newspapers LLC by LLC, so LLC Publishers asks the clerk for the LLC's assignment first.
- The notice. LLC Publishers prepares the Section 802 notice from the filed application (a copy the owner sends, or one LLC Publishers requests from the Department of State when the owner cannot find it) and places it in both newspapers for six consecutive weeks.
- Affidavits. LLC Publishers collects both notarized affidavits of publication and asks each newspaper for an affidavit under Section 802.
- The State filing. LLC Publishers files the Certificate of Publication (DOS-1707-f) through eCorp, the State's online filing system, as a service company: a business that files documents with the Department of State for others. The $50 state filing fee is included.
LLC Publishers' full process takes about 8–10 weeks: six weeks of publication, about 1–2 weeks for affidavits and about 1–2 weeks for the State. The newspapers and the State set their own pace, so these are estimates. Each order carries LLC Publishers' guarantee: Certificate of Publication delivered, or our service fee back. For the whole Section 802 process, see the foreign LLC publication guide; prices are on pricing.
Application for Authority filed?
LLC Publishers publishes in the county on it: a base price of $395–$1,795 by county. One fixed, one-time total.
Get StartedFAQ: The County on a NY Application for Authority
Which county does a foreign LLC write on a NY Application for Authority?
Item THIRD of DOS-1361-f-a asks for "the county within New York State in which the office of the foreign limited liability company is to be located or if the foreign limited liability company shall maintain more than one office in this state, the county within New York State in which the principal office of the foreign limited liability company is to be located". Section 102(s) of the NY LLC Law says that office "need not be a place where business activities are conducted by such limited liability company." The LLC designates the county; LLC Publishers does not recommend one.
Does a foreign LLC need a physical office in New York to name a county on its Application for Authority?
The Department of State's form says a foreign LLC is not required to have a physical office in New York State. Item THIRD's note on DOS-1361-f-a reads: "Please note that the limited liability company is not required to have an actual physical office in New York State." Section 102(s) of the NY LLC Law adds that the office stated in the application "need not be a place where business activities are conducted by such limited liability company."
Is the county on a NY Application for Authority the registered agent's county?
Section 802(a) of the NY LLC Law lists the office county, the process address and a registered agent as three separate items: (3) the county of the office, (4) "the post office address within or without this state" where the Secretary of State mails process, and (5) a registered agent "if it is to have" one. DOS-1361-f-a has no registered agent item. The Department of State's Application for Authority page says the newspapers "must be designated by the county clerk of the county in which the LLC has designated as its office location as stated in the application for authority." LLC Publishers' copy of the Department of State's entity records (October 2026) holds 12,989 of the 13,115 foreign LLCs and foreign professional service LLCs whose application was filed from October 20, 2025 to October 19, 2026. Of those 12,989, 1,511 have a registered agent on the Department's record.
How much does newspaper publication cost for a foreign LLC in New York?
LLC Publishers' price is one fixed, one-time total determined by the county on the LLC's Application for Authority: a base price of $395–$1,795 by county. LLC Publishers' price covers both newspapers for six weeks, the affidavits and the Certificate of Publication with the $50 state filing fee. Newspaper rates vary by county, and each county's base price is in the table on this page.
Why does LLC Publishers charge more to publish for a foreign LLC than for a New York LLC?
LLC Publishers' price for a foreign LLC is higher than for a New York LLC, by the same amount in every county, for the additional requirements of NY LLC Law §802: a longer notice and more to verify before publishing. As of October 2026, LLC Publishers' foreign-LLC notices ran a median of 95 words, against 58 for its domestic notices, mostly because Section 802(b) adds the home-state formation, office and filing-officer lines. In LLC Publishers' experience in 2026, about 9 in 10 foreign-LLC notices are placed by hand with a person at the newspaper. At least 7 of the 44 newspaper affidavits for LLC Publishers' foreign-LLC orders from February to October 2026 first came back citing Section 206 and were reissued under Section 802.
When does a foreign LLC's 120-day publication period start in New York?
Section 802(b) of the NY LLC Law starts it at the filing: "Within one hundred twenty days after the filing of the application for authority with the department of state". The Department of State's Application for Authority page says the same: "within 120 days after the filing of the application for authority".
Can LLC Publishers publish for a foreign LLC after the 120 days have passed?
Yes. New York State continues to accept publication filings after the 120-day window, and LLC Publishers handles a publication after the window as part of its standard service: it publishes in the county already on the LLC's record and files the Certificate of Publication (DOS-1707-f). When the owner designates a different New York county for the LLC's office, LLC Publishers files the Certificate of Change first, then publishes in that county. What Section 802(b) of the NY LLC Law says follows a missed deadline is quoted in full in the New York registration guide.
Can a foreign LLC change its New York county after filing the Application for Authority?
Section 804-A of the NY LLC Law says a foreign LLC "may amend its application for authority from time to time to (i) specify or change the location of the limited liability company's office", by filing a Certificate of Change, form DOS-1362-f. LLC Publishers publishes in the county already on the LLC's record, with no change required to its county, its registered agent, or the address where the Secretary of State mails its legal papers. When the owner designates a different New York county, LLC Publishers files the Certificate of Change first, as a $100 add-on to the publication order with the State's filing fee included, then publishes in that county.
Which counties do new foreign LLCs name on their Applications for Authority?
New York County and Albany County are named most often. Of the 12,345 first Applications for Authority filed in 2025 by foreign LLCs and foreign professional service LLCs, 4,449 named New York County and 3,263 named Albany County, according to the Department of State's public filing records (data.ny.gov dataset 63wc-4exh). These counts show the county each filer stated on its application (item THIRD on a foreign LLC's DOS-1361-f-a).
Does LLC Publishers recommend a county for a foreign LLC's Application for Authority?
LLC Publishers does not recommend a county; the LLC designates it. LLC Publishers publishes in the county already on the LLC's record, and when the owner designates a different New York county for the LLC's office, LLC Publishers files the Certificate of Change first, then publishes in that county.
Sources and Data
- Statutes: NY LLC Law §802, §102 and §804-A, quoted verbatim, and §1101, the fee schedule.
- Department of State: form DOS-1361-f-a (Rev. 12/22) and the Department's Application for Authority, Certificate of Publication and Certificate of Change pages, read October 23, 2026.
- State filing data: NY Open Data dataset 63wc-4exh, extracted October 22, 2026, and LLC Publishers' copy of the Department of State's entity records (October 2026), for the registered agent count.
- LLC Publishers' records and experience: notice lengths, affidavits and newspaper charges from LLC Publishers' orders as of October 2026, and LLC Publishers' experience placing foreign-LLC notices in 2026. Prices are read live from LLC Publishers' price list.
Disclaimer
This article is general information, not legal advice. Laws and Department of State procedures change, and how they apply to a particular LLC depends on its facts. For a question about your own LLC, including which county to designate on its Application for Authority, consult a New York attorney. LLC Publishers is a document filing service, not a law firm.
Key Takeaways
- Item THIRD of DOS-1361-f-a asks for a New York county, and the form says the LLC "is not required to have an actual physical office in New York State."
- Section 102(s) says the office stated in the application "need not be a place where business activities are conducted" by the LLC.
- The county decides which county clerk designates the two newspapers, and newspaper rates vary by county.
- The office county, the process address and a registered agent are separate items in Section 802(a)(3), (4) and (5); DOS-1361-f-a has no registered agent item.
- LLC Publishers' price is one fixed, one-time total determined by the county on the LLC's Application for Authority, with a base price of $395–$1,795 by county.
- The 120 days run from the filing of the application, in Section 802(b)'s words "after the filing of the application for authority with the department of state".
- LLC Publishers publishes in the county already on the LLC's record, and when the owner designates a different county, it first files the Certificate of Change (DOS-1362-f, Section 804-A) as a $100 add-on.
- The LLC designates the county; LLC Publishers does not recommend one.
